


Hey Jealousy

by christchex



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: 5 Times, Angst, Jealousy, M/M, the anti-chad chad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 21:51:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17650541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christchex/pseuds/christchex
Summary: Five times where Alex gets jealous and one time Michael gets jealous instead.





	Hey Jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> This has no beta. I was going to review it, then I had a kinda awful day.
> 
> Sockich, I hope you enjoy the jealousy, even if it turned more angst than anything else. What can I say, I'm great at angst.
> 
> Title from the Gin Blossoms song, because why mess with the theme.

1.

“The worst thing about living in Roswell, New Mexico,” Alex said as he and Liz walked into the Wild Pony, “has to be the bars.” 

There were townie bars and there were tourist bars, with not much in between. Sure, you could spend your Friday night at the drive-in, or the crash-site museum, but the drive-in only had two movies at a time and the museum? Well, the museum had been an off-limits spot for Alex since senior year. 

“What, you want to go to the Alien-themed bars?” Liz shot back immediately. “We’d be the joke of the town. Well, you would anyway. The town’s opinion of me can’t get much worse.” They took two of the few remaining open seats at the bar. “Besides, this bar has the best bartender.” 

“Damn right it does!” Maria exclaimed as she walked up to her friends on the other side of the bar top. “What brings my two favorite people into this bar on a Friday night? This is even less of your crowd than usual.” Her gaze scanned the crowd as she spoke, eyes flitting from a drunken argument to a drunken hook-up back to her friends. 

“Well-” Liz starts, but Alex cuts her off quickly. 

“-can’t we just come by and see our friend?” He asks, fidgeting slightly. 

“Not fooling me Manes,” Maria replied quickly. “Can’t lie to a psychic. Spill.” 

“There’s nothing to spill.” 

“Still don’t believe you. Spill.” 

“There’s nothing-” 

“Alex is moping over someone.” Alex glared at Liz. “Can’t lie to a psychic Alex. Besides, after listening to you talk for a minute, she was going to figure it out. I thought a night out would help.” She directed the last part to Maria. “And what better place than where our best friend is?” 

“Flattery gets you everywhere Ortecho. I’m guessing it’s a tequila night, if we’re trying not to mope. I’ll be right back with shots, gotta take care of another customer first.” 

As Maria walked away, Alex turned back to Liz. 

“Are you sure this is the best place for this?” 

“Why not? It’s cheaper than the other options, it’s not alien-themed, and instead of being home on a Friday with your father, you get to spend it with your friends.” 

“You may have a point there.” Alex smiled. It was small, but real. It was the first time had seen him smile since he got into her car. She nudged their sholders together. “Trust me, it’s going to be great.” 

The night was great, Alex had to admit it. Maria had come back with five tequila shots- “two for each of you but I still have to work”- and had come in and out of their conversation the whole evening. It was nice, spending time with people who expected nothing from him, being around friends who were loud and loving. They expected nothing, but they appreciated every smile, every joke, every moment where his military man mask fell and the Alex they once knew came out. It was nice. 

The bar was loud, but that just added to the atmosphere. It was loud, chaotic, and still was more welcoming than the judgmental silence at home. 

“I think,” Alex said with a slight slur much later in the evening, “that I need to move out.” 

“That may be the smartest thing you have said all night.” “Maria was wiping down the counter near them. “You can’t keep living with your dad now that you’re home for good.” 

“Here for good, unless they move me to a desk somewhere else.” 

“I like to think maybe my friends will stay around for a bit, thank you. Anyway, what brought about this revelation?” 

“He’s been lecturing me again about... well everything. How to conduct myself, who I should conduct myself with. I know it all already. It’s why I broke it off with...” Alex cut himself off. Maria stopped wiping the counter while Liz turned to Alex with wide eyes. Alex continued, “...whatever. I don’t need him to keep reminding me.” 

“Alex, were you seeing someone?” Liz kept her voice as slow as should could. It was late and the bar was starting to clear, but last call was still a while off. There were still people around who could overhear. 

Alex light snort could barely be heard above the rest of the noise. “Doesn’t matter, does it? It’s over and it’s done.” 

Maria’s attention was caught by a customer near the group. Michael Guerin stood a little away from Liz and Alex, arm wrapped around the waist of a pretty brunette. 

“What can I get for you Guerin?”  

“Just another round for my date and I.” His words were casual, but his mouth was tight, and he looked resolutely ahead at Maria, not once acknowledging Liz or Alex. Maria gave him an odd look, before she reached down to grab the beers. 

“On the tab?” 

“Yeah. Thanks DeLuca.” 

As the two walked away, Maria turned to Liz and Alex. 

“That was weird right?” 

“Totally weird,” Liz agreed before taking a sip of her drink. 

Alex just stayed quiet as Maria and Liz began to talk about the awkward encounter, about who the girl was and how Michael Guerin always seemed to find people out of his league. He looked down into his glass and took a deep breath, his jaw clenched so tight he could feel his teeth ache. 

 

2.

Town events seem to happen weekly in Roswell. Crowds gathered along stalls as the yearly arts and crafts festival, with the main street overflowing with people looking at the art, jewelry, and knickknacks on display. The stalls were diverse, with clothing and native crafts, hand-spun pottery, or homemade bracelets and necklaces. For one weekend a year, Rowell could be any other town rather than the Alien Town. 

“Please tell me we’re not walking around this whole thing,” Alex says as he takes in the streets full of stalls, the food trucks at the far end. His body ached just looking at it. 

“No, don’t worry. I know exactly what I want.” Maria’s reply was somewhat distant, as she turned to face the other direction, eyes intent on one stall in particular. “Oh! There it is.” 

Maria grabbed his hand and started toward the booth. Alex could not tell what made it different from any other, but that did not matter. The point of this trip was to get Maria a new necklace, to avoid his father, and to be at the last place Michael Guerin would be with one of his dates.  

“I promise we will go somewhere else after, but this guy has the best jewelry and he refuses to set up an online shop and I will not drive to Sante Fe just for jewelry.” Maria continued to steering Alex towards the booth, as she talked about how annoying it was that some people refuse to step into the modern world. Frankly, Alex was not sure what Maria was going on about.  

Alex followed Maria past stalls until she stopped at one with vibrant scarves wrapped around the tentpoles, but tasteful displays inside. The jewelry looked like the kind Maria generally wore, though Alex did not understand what made these better than any alternatives. 

“I promise, this won’t take long,” Maria reminds him as they walk into the tent’s shade. It was cool underneath, almost uncomfortably so without the warmth of the sun shining down. 

“Hey,” Alex called to Maria as she picked up a necklace. “I’m going to wait out in the sun, ok?” 

“Sure, I’ll meet you out there.” 

Alex went back into the sunlight, awkwardly standing in front of the booth. He looked around at the closest stalls but found nothing of interest. He took to looking around, observing the people at the fair with disinterest. After a few minutes of boredom, he turned to see what Maria was doing when he caught sight of a familiar head. Five or six stalls down stood Michael Guerin, hands in his pocket and head down. The sight was odd. Michael had a reputation as a town loner, uninterested in the events that go on outside of the bar, and now the junk yard, but there he stood, in front of a stall selling hand painted pottery.  

Alex continued to watch him, as inconspicuous as possible in the middle of the street. He looked sad from this distance, and not just annoyed to be at a craft fair. Alex could not see his eyes, but he could see the downturned edges of his mouth. Alex watched as a man he had never seen before came up behind Michael and threw his arm around his shoulders. Alex watched as Michael looked up and smiled, mouth wide and eyes crinkled. 

Alex felt his stomach drop. 

It was not until her felt Maria’s hand on his back that he realized he was staring. He hoped that she did not notice the anger in his eyes, the upset clench of his jaw, or the way he shook with the effort to hold himself still, to not run over and throw the guy’s arm off Michael’s shoulder. 

“What are you...” Maria started as she followed Alex’s eyeline. “Oh, what’s Guerin doing at a town fair? He hates this stuff. Oh, and who is his friend?” Alex finally looks over at his own friend as Maria fans herself. “Seriously where does Guerin find these attractive people? There’s no way they’re from Roswell and we don’t know them.” 

They kept watching as Michael and the man seemed to joke with each other. Alex felt his jaw clench tighter, his teeth grinding together painfully. The hand not holding his crutch curled into a fist, nail close to cutting into skin. Before he could give into his desire to storm over there, Maria spoke again. 

“Well that explains it.” She punctuated her statement with a slight nudge to his shoulder. 

“What...” Alex started, then looked in the direction Maria had indicated. There Isobel Evans-Bracken and her husband Noah were, making their way towards Michael and the man. Noah had a grin on his face as he made his way over to the two. Once there he hugged the stranger, who had finally lifted his arm off Michael. Michael made his way to Isobel to accept a hug. From this distance Alex could not see, but he could imagine the put-upon expression that would be on Michael’s face as he accepted a kiss on the cheek. 

“...has to be a friend of Noah’s. Explains why we don’t know him.” Maria had started talking while Alex quiet stewed in his anger. Alex barely heard a word she said. “Plus, those two are the only people who could get Michael Guerin to a place like this. Anyway, I got what I wanted. Ready to go meet Liz and Kyle?” 

Alex, eyes still gazing toward Michael, shook himself out of his daze. 

“Yeah,” he said, now facing Maria. “Let’s go.” 

  

3.

Alex did not want to be at the drive-in. He tried his best to get out of it. Unfortunately, his best was not effective at all. 

“I do not want to be here.”  

“Come on Alex! It’s going to be just like high school. We’re gonna watch a stupid horror movie, Maria will probably get stoned, you will drink a little too much, and we’ll just have a good time. Please, I need something right now to just take my mind off of everything- Rosa and the diner and everything with my Dad...” 

Alex couldn’t say no, not after Liz brought up Rosa, the shooting at the diner, and Wyatt Long trying his best to destroy her father’s life. Liz knew it too. He could tell by her pout and the way she was making puppy dog eyes at him. So here he was, at the drive-in on a Thursday night when they played awful horror films back to back. 

It really was just like high school. 

“Where’s my corndog Liz,” Maria says as Liz returns from the concession stand.  

“I just got back! Here,” Liz shoved the soda and popcorn at Alex in the back seat as she dropped the corndog that was wrapped in wax paper into Maria’s lap. “Now you can stop complaining. There’s actually halfway decent films tonight and I am excited.” 

Liz wiggled into her seat, attempting to get comfortable even with the steering wheel in front of her. She was not wrong, the movies they had slotted for tonight were all ones Alex liked, even ones that he had seen at the drive-in in high school. It was just a little odd, to be back at the drive-in after everything, to in the backseat of his high school best friend’s car watching a film he saw in high school. There was only one thing missing from this high school scenario.  

“...Is that Guerin over there?” Liz asked, skepticism lacing her voice. “I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him, but the drive-in never really seemed his scene.” 

“Got even less his scene once they actually let him stay at the bar instead of kicking him out,” Maria confirms. “We’ve been seeing him everywhere recently. It’s weird.” She turned to face Liz and Alex from the front passenger seat. “He was at the art and crafts fair two weeks ago.” 

“I saw him at that fancy Thai fusion place in town the other night. I didn’t recognize who he was with.” Liz replied.  

“Maybe moving off of the ranch reminded him that other places besides the bar exists.” Liz and Maria laugh and turn back to the screen, but Alex had lost focus a long time ago. 

This had been the only thing missing, Michael Guerin. In this context, the tightness in Alex’s chest made sense, so did the anger. How many times had Guerin done this? How many times had he gone out with a girl, somewhere public, and publicly a date, because he knew that Alex would never? Generally, it had always happened after Alex had said “we’re done” and stuck to it for longer than a day. Typically, those occasions had always started with Michael lying to him or hiding something from him. Some things really don’t change. 

It felt worse tonight, somehow. Maybe because horror Thursdays were one of the few times they could get away with a date. They both loved horror films. The girls would often go together, Alex joining them if Kyle did, but if they went alone Alex would end up there with Michael. They would sit in the cabin of the truck and keep a good distance from each other, but Michael would lean against his door and kick his legs across the bench seat. His calves would fall across Alex’s thighs and they could both pretend that this was ok, that this was what they wanted, that this was how they liked it. They could pretend that the distance between them could be bridged so easily. 

Alex kept his face forward, focused on the screen. He would not think about Michael Guerin at the drive-in with some attractive stranger, when weeks before it was them in the bed of his truck. He would not think about Michael Guerin as the 17-year old desperate to touch his boyfriend in any way he could. He would not think about Michael Guerin right after he woke up, happier than Alex had ever seen him. He would not think about Michael Guerin at all. 

It really was just like high school.  

And just like in high school, Alex failed completely. 

 

4.

This was Alex’s lowest point, it had to be. 

He was hiding in the self-checkout aisle at the market, trying not to see Michael Guerin smile at the cashier and he ran up his purchase. The purchase that included things like fresh vegetables, grade-a cuts of meat, things that you would cook in a fully stocked kitchen, rather than the camper kitchen of the Airstream that Alex had only seen stocked full of pre-made frozen meals. Alex hadn’t seen anything other than a microwave be used. Yet, there Michael was, with food enough for a large meal, food good enough for a nice meal. 

Alex tried not to think about who he could be cooking for. Really, it could be for anyone. Well, anyone besides Alex.  

Alex took a deep breath and started to scan his items. It was none of his business and he had no right to be angry. 

  

5.

“Why do we always end up at the Wild Pony?” He asks Liz, though there is no real annoyance in his voice anymore. His reservations about the place disappeared with every visit he made. 

“Because we love our friend. And because it is honestly the best bar in town,” Maria replied, with a slight frown. She continued, “It would have been nice if we actually got a spot at the bar though.” 

“Yes, I know. I made us late.” 

“Didn’t even mean that. It’s more that I don’t understand why it’s so crowded. It’s Monday. In Roswell. Don’t these people have something better to do?” 

“I think you answered your own question there,” Alex could not keep the smirk off his face. “It’s Monday. In Roswell. There is absolutely nothing else to do but go to the bar.” 

Liz laughed and took a sip of her drink. 

It was true, the bar was crowded, but the crowd was limited to the bar itself. There regulars took their spot to drink away the problems of living in a small town. The regulars included Michael Guerin, of course. 

He was sat at the bar, the same spot Alex saw him in weeks ago, when they locked eyes across the bar and Michael looked away. It seemed to be his spot. Alex cannot say he’s surprised Michael has a spot at the bar, more surprised that any of the older drunks let him have it. Alex watched Michael, ignorant to any potential conversation Liz might try to strike up. 

Currently, he sat talking to Maria as she took care of his order. They both had smiles on their faces, and Alex could recognize Maria’s genuine smile even from his booth. They were happy to talk to each other. That hurt more than Alex had thought it would. Maria gave Michael his beer but kept standing there. They continued their conversation, smiles still on their face. Then, Maria said something that caused Michael to laugh. A real laugh, not a disbelieving laugh or a sarcastic laugh. It hurt a little to hear. It hurt a little to watch them, actually, but Alex kept doing it. He watched their conversation. He watched Michael say something that caused Maria to swat at his muscular upper arm. He watched Michael hold Maria’s had and gently squeeze it.  

He watched Michael stand up and head towards the bathrooms. Alex stood up as well. 

“I’m going to the bathroom,” he told Liz, “I’ll be right back.” 

He followed Michael towards the hallway that led to the restrooms. He grabbed Michael’s shoulder before he could reach them. 

“Hey! What are you...” Michael trailed off as he turned toward Alex. His face twisted up with confusion and sadness he asked, “Alex, what do you want?” 

“I want you to stay away from my friend.” Alex’s tone left no room for arguments, but Michael’s face did not lose its trace of confusion. 

“What are you talking about Alex?” 

“I want you to stay away from Maria.” 

“She works at the only bar in town I like, kinda can’t avoid her.” 

“You know what I mean, Guerin.” 

“The thing is Alex, I think I do. And I’m thrilled that your opinion of me could get lower than it already was, but I’m not trying to fuck your friends. I’m talking to someone I’ve known for years, who I have my own form of a friendship with. So, you have nothing to worry about. Now, can I go take a leak now?” Michael shot a look at the hand still holding his shoulder. 

Alex’s arm dropped. He said nothing as he turned on his heel and left. 

 

+1 

“He’s on a date.” 

“Yup.” 

“He’s on a date, at the Wild Pony.” 

“Yup.” 

“Are you going to say anything besides ‘yup’?” 

Maria smiled as she opened Michael’s beer bottle. 

“Yup.” He shot her a glare. “They came in maybe five minutes before you. I haven’t had the chance to go over there yet. I know nothing about him or this date. Well, not yet anyway. I’m betting he’s military. Look at his hair cut.” 

“God, I bet his dad loves that. His war hero son, dating another war hero.” 

“Stop wallowing Guerin, or I will not tell you anything I learn.” 

Maria walked away, left the bar, and made her way to the table Alex and his date were sitting at. She smiled through introductions- though her face turned comical for a moment there-, handshakes, and drink orders. After a few minutes she returned. 

“I need to get their drinks, then I’ll be back.” 

She returned to their table with two bottles of beer and a smile. They talked and joked for a few more minutes until Maria gestured back towards the bar. Once she returned, she immediately went over to Michael. 

“His name is Chad.” 

That explained Maria’s face earlier. 

“He’s on a date with a Chad. Seriously? All Chads are just so...” Michael trailed off, but his expression made his feelings about men named Chad clear. 

“I know! But get this, he’s an engineer and does military duty most weekends. He volunteers at an animal rescue site near his hometown. He won a medal or award of some sort for saving 6 lives during a building collapse. Like, he’s the most anti-Chad Chad I have ever met.” Michael looked skeptical. “He didn’t even tell me this! Alex did! He just blushed and said that the real hero at the table was Alex.” 

“I think I hate him.” 

“Come on Guerin, don’t be jealous.” 

“Jealous? I’m not jealous of Alex or his date.” 

“You have _not_ been subtle about this. I’ve seen you around town, making those sad pathetic puppy eyes at our darling Alex. You’ve been watching them since the moment you walked in. Don’t try it. Psychic, remember?” 

“Fine. How am I supposed to not be jealous? He’s on a date. With a good guy named _Chad.”_

__

__

“Don’t you want to know what else I found out?” 

“No.” 

“Oh, but you do. Trust me, I know, I’m a psychic.”  

“Fine, psychic. Tell me.” 

Maria’s face was smug when she said, “I also found out that they were just friends. And that Chad came to visit because he found out Alex was feeling down because of boy problems...” 

“...what.” 

“That’s right Guerin. You have a chance. Do something about before he finds a real date. Or before Chad decides that maybe they would be good together. I don’t know what went down between you two, but he’s been as pathetic about you as you’re being about him. So. Do. Something.” 

Maria stole a swig of Michael’s beer and held out her hand. “Now,” she said, “that was basically psychic advice, so pay up Guerin. I don’t fix other people’s mistakes for free.” 

Michael rolled his eyes, but he still handed Maria an extra ten at the end of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> The Anti-Chad Chad is the fault of the wonderful people at Cowboys and Aliens on Discord. You should join us. We're fun.


End file.
